LooseBone

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Actinide Element

2005-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Any of a series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89–103). As a group they are significant largely because of their radioactivity. Although several members of the group, including uranium (the most familiar), occur naturally, most are man-made. Both uranium and plutonium have been used in atomic bombs for their

China, From Wu-ti to Yüan-ti

2005-04-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

The third emperor of the Hsi Han to be singled out for special praise by traditional Chinese historians was Wu-ti (reigned 141/140–87/86 BC), whose reign was the longest of the whole Han period. His reputation as a vigorous and brave ruler derives from the long series of campaigns fought chiefly against the Hsiung-nu (northern nomads) and in Central Asia. But Wu-ti never took a personal

Masinissa

2005-04-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Masinissa was the son of the chieftain of a Numidian tribal group, the Massyli.

Bohemond Ii

2005-04-02T05:30:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond I and Constance of France, he went from Apulia to Antioch in 1126. Antioch had been under the regency of Baldwin II of Jerusalem since 1119, when the previous prince, Roger, had been killed. Soon after his arrival in Antioch, Bohemond married Alice, the younger daughter of Baldwin. After joining with Baldwin in an attack on Damascus

Koenig, Marie-pierre (-joseph-françois)

2005-04-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

After active duty during World War I and later in North Africa, Koenig campaigned in Norway and France during the early part of World War II. Evacuated to England in June 1940, he joined de Gaulle's movement and rose

Almaty

2005-04-01T02:26:00.000-08:00

Russian Alma-Ata, formerly (1855–1921) Verny, city, southeastern Kazakstan. It was formerly the capital of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1929–91) and of independent Kazakstan (1991–97). Almaty lies in the northern foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 2,300–3,000 feet (700–900 m), where the Bolshaya and Malaya Almaatinka rivers emerge into the plain. The modern city was founded in 1854 when the Russians established the military fortification of Zailiyskoye

Calamine Brass

2005-03-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

Alloy of copper with zinc, produced by heating fragments of copper with charcoal and a zinc ore, calamine or smithsonite, in a closed crucible to red heat (about 1,300° C, or 2,400° F). The ore is reduced to a zinc vapour that diffuses into the copper. Apparently invented in Asia Minor, this method of brass manufacture was common from the 1st millennium BC. In Roman times a brass industry was

Beyers, C.f.

2005-03-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

A graduate of Victoria College (now Stellenbosch University), Beyers migrated to the Transvaal, where he was naturalized and practiced as a lawyer. Joining the Boer forces in 1899, he rose

Kuan Han-ch'ing

2005-03-30T04:41:00.000-08:00

Kuan Han-ch'ing, probably a scholar, belonged to a writers' guild that specialized in writing plays for performing groups. Fourteen of his plays (from more than 60 with known titles) have been preserved. Several of them are unquestionably

Miner, Myrtilla

2005-03-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Miner was educated at the Clover Street Seminary in Rochester, New York (1840-44), and taught at various schools, including the Newton Female Institute (1846-47) in Whitesville,

Bondi, Sir Hermann

2005-03-28T07:28:00.000-08:00

Bondi received his M.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge. During World War II he worked in the British Admiralty (1942–45). He then taught mathematics at Cambridge (1945–54) and at King's College, London (1954–85; emeritus 1985); he served as master of Churchill

Tiffany, Louis Comfort

2005-03-28T06:17:00.000-08:00

The son of the famous jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, Louis studied under the American painters George Inness and Samuel

Ba'qubah

2005-03-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Iraq. Located on the Diyala River and on a road and a rail line between Baghdad and Iran, it is a regional trade centre for agricultural produce and livestock. The name comes from the Aramaic Baya 'quba, meaning “Jacob's house.” The town is located on the site of a settlement dating back to pre-Islamic times. Under the 'Abbasid caliphate, it was a prosperous town known

Itaipú Dam

2005-03-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

Hollow gravity dam on the Alto (Upper) Paraná River at the Brazil-Paraguay border, north of the town of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. In terms of power output, it is one of the world's largest hydroelectric projects. Its 18 massive turbine generators, located in the powerhouse at the base of the dam, are capable of generating 12,600 megawatts of electricity. Built as a joint venture by

Confucianism, The Sung masters

2005-03-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

The Sung dynasty (960–1279) was militarily weak and much smaller than the T'ang, but its cultural splendour and economic prosperity were unprecedented in human history. The Sung's commercial revolution produced flourishing markets, densely populated urban centres, elaborate communication networks, theatrical performances, literary groups, and popular religions—developments

Performing Arts, Far East.

2005-03-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

A few Japanese films stood out from the commercial run. In Dolls, Takeshi Kitano linked three contemporary love stories inspired by the traditional bunraku doll theatre. Kitano's own early career in vaudeville was imaginatively chronicled by Makoto Shinozaki in Asakusa Kid. Akira Kurosawa's former assistant Takashi Koizumi adapted a novel by Keishi Nagi and

Baha'i Temple

2005-03-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

In the Baha'i faith, house of worship open to adherents of all religions. See mashriq al-adhkar.

Alcaic

2005-03-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

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Hojo Yoshitoki

2005-03-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

Yoshitoki succeeded his father, Hojo Tokimasa (q.v.), as regent, making this office the hereditary post of the Hojo family. Thereafter, although the emperor at Kyoto was the official

Cohen

2005-03-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) , plural cohanim , or cohens Jewish priest, one who is a descendant of Zadok, founder of the priesthood of Jerusalem when the First Temple was built by Solomon (10th century BC) and through Zadok related to Aaron, the first Jewish priest, who was appointed to that office by his younger brother, Moses. Though laymen such as Gideon, David, and Solomon offered sacrifice as God commanded, the Hebrew priesthood

John Of Ephesus,

2005-03-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

A Syrian monk, he became a deacon at Amida in 529, but because of the Byzantine persecution of the Monophysites he was forced to lead a nomadic life. Later, at the Eastern imperial court of Constantinople, John was

Bene Beraq

2005-03-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

Near the presumed location of ancient Bene Beraq, a

Avocet

2005-03-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

Any of several large shorebirds belonging to the genus Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae. Avocets have boldly contrasting plumage, long bluish legs, and a long black bill upturned at the tip. They inhabit fresh and salt marshes that have areas of open shallow water and mud flats, and they feed by sweeping the bill, held partly open, back

Black Aesthetic Movement

2005-03-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

Based on the cultural politics of black nationalism, the movement sought to create a populist art form to promote the idea of black separatism. Many adherents viewed the artist as an activist responsible for the formation of racially separate publishing houses, theatre troupes,

Kernel

2005-03-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

(for symbol, see integration), both the kernel function, K(x, y), and g(x) are given, and f(x) is the function sought. As an example, in Abel's equation for the curve followed by a particle moving in a vertical plane under the influence of gravity, which takes the form of the integral

Aethelbald

2005-03-18T05:59:00.000-08:00

King of the Mercians from 716, who became the chief king of a confederation including all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms between the River Humber and the English Channel. His predominance was made possible by the death of the strong king Wihtred of Kent (725) and the abdication of Ine of Wessex (726). During Aethelbald's reign, London passed from East Saxon to Mercian control.

Colepeper (of Thoresway), John Colepeper, 1st Baron

2005-03-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

Elected member for Kent in the Long Parliament, he took the popular side, supporting the Earl of Strafford's attainder and receiving an appointment to the Parliamentary committee of defense in 1641. He separated, however, from the popular party on the church

Chile, Geography

2005-03-17T16:33:00.000-08:00

Works on the social conditions include Arturo Valenzuela and J. Samuel Valenzuela (eds.), Chile: Politics and Society (1976); Barbara Stallings, Class Conflict and Economic Development in Chile: 1958–1973 (1978); Brian H. Smith, The Church and Politics in Chile: Challenges to Modern Catholicism (1982); and Cesar Caviedes, The Politics of Chile: A Sociogeographical Assessment (1979). The military's role in Chilean politics is treated in J. Samuel Valenzuela and Arturo Valenzuela (eds.), Military Rule in Chile: Dictatorship and Oppositions (1986); Cesar Caviedes, The Southern Cone: Realities of the Authoritarian State in South America (1984); and Frederick M. Nunn, The Military in Chilean History: Essays on Civil-Military Relations, 1810–1973 (1976), and Chilean Politics, 1920–1931: The Honorable Mission of the Armed Forces (1970). Contemporary culture is discussed in Hernán Godoy Urzúa, Apuntes sobre la cultura en Chile (1982).

Human Disease, Diseases of genetic origin

2005-03-17T04:23:00.000-08:00

Certain human diseases result from mutations in the genetic complement (genome) contained in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chromosomes. A gene is a discrete linear sequence of nucleotide bases (molecular units) of the DNA that codes for, or directs, the synthesis of a protein, and there may be as many as 100,000 genes in the human genome. Proteins, many of which are enzymes

Coello, Claudio

2005-03-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

The son of a famous Portuguese sculptor, Faustino Coello, he studied under Francisco

Cambon, Jules

2005-03-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Educated in law, Cambon entered the prefectorial administration after service in the Franco-German War (1870–71). In June 1878 he was

Andrew Of Lonjumel

2005-03-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

On his first diplomatic mission, to Constantinople (1238), he brought back the relic revered as

Appian Way

2005-03-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

Latin Via Appia, the first and most famous of the ancient Roman roads, running from Rome to Campania and southern Italy. (See Roman road system.) The Appian Way was begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus. At first it ran only 132 miles (212 km) from Rome south-southeastward to ancient Capua, in Campania, but by about 244 BC it had been extended another 230 miles (370 km) southeastward to reach the port of Brundisium

Kuznets, Simon

2005-03-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

Kuznets immigrated to the United States in 1922, 15 years after the arrival there of his father (who changed the family name to Smith, though the young Kuznets preferred the original

Camp, Walter

2005-03-13T23:20:00.000-08:00

As an undergraduate and then as a medical student at Yale (1876–81), Camp played halfback,

Smith, Lee

2005-03-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

Smith was educated at Hollins College, Roanoke, Va. (B.A., 1967), and the Sorbonne in Paris; she taught at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University. Her first novel, The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed (1968), was written while she was in college. Her stories are set in the

Brostrom, Axel Ludvig

2005-03-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

As a young man Brostrom joined a shipping company and later became an owner-captain in the lake shipping trade. In 1870 he converted a sailing ship, Activ, into a steamship, which proved so successful

Fischer-tropsch Reaction

2005-03-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

The process was first used in Germany about 1940 as a method of producing liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline

Biblical Literature, Meaning of the term gospel

2005-03-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

From the late AD 40s and until his martyrdom in the 60s, Paul wrote letters to the churches that he founded or guided. These are the earliest Christian writings that the church has, and in them he refers to “the gospel” (euangelion). In Romans, chapter 1, verse 1, he says: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God . . .” and goes on to describe this “gospel

Breda, Treaty Of

2005-03-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

(July 31, 1667), treaty between England, the Dutch Republic, France, and Denmark, which brought to an inconclusive end the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–67), in which France and Denmark had supported the Dutch. The Dutch had the military advantage during the war (fought mostly at sea) but were compelled to make peace quickly to deal with Louis XIV's invasion of the Spanish Netherlands in the

Babeuf, François-noël

2005-03-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

The son of a tax farmer, Babeuf

Transplant

2005-03-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

Without a blood supply organs deteriorate rapidly. Cooling can slow down the process but cannot stop it. Organs differ in their susceptibility to damage. At body temperature, irreversible destruction of the brain occurs after more than three to five minutes; of the heart, liver, pancreas, and lung, after 10 to 30 minutes; of the kidney, after 50 to 100 minutes; and of the skin and cornea,

Camagüey

2005-03-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

Provincia, east-central Cuba, bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Ciego de Ávila province, on the east by Las Tunas province, and on the south by the Caribbean Sea. It was established in 1879 as Puerto Príncipe; the province of Ciego de Ávila was separated from Camagüey province in 1976. It is Cuba's largest province. Camagüey's early importance as a cattle-raising

Typhus

2005-03-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

Acute, infectious series of diseases that are characterized by a sudden onset with headache, chills, fever, and general pains, a rash appearing on the third to fifth day, and toxemia (toxic substances in the blood), and terminating after about two to three weeks. Originally considered a single clinical entity, it is now regarded as a group of closely related diseases caused

Thousand Days, The War Of A

2005-03-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Liberal Party represented coffee plantation owners and import-export merchants who favoured a laissez-faire economic policy. Largely excluded from participation in government after the Conservative victory

Fabius Maximus Cunctator, Quintus

2005-03-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

Fabius was consul in 233 and 228 and censor

E Region

2005-03-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Kennelly-heaviside Layer, ionospheric region that extends from an altitude of 90 kilometres (60 miles) to about 160 kilometres (100 miles). As in the D region (70–90 kilometres), the ionization is primarily molecular—i.e., resulting from the splitting of neutral molecules—oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2)—into electrons and positively charged molecules. Unlike that of the D region, the ionization of the E region remains at

Christ, Two Natures Of

2005-03-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

The clarification of Trinitarian doctrine during the first four centuries

Water Scorpion

2005-03-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

Any of the approximately 150 species of aquatic invertebrates of the family Nepidae (order Hemiptera). The water scorpion resembles a land scorpion in certain ways: it has scythelike front legs adapted for seizing prey and a long, thin, whiplike structure at its posterior end. This “tail,” made up of two attached respiratory tubes, is extended above the surface of the water,

Beamon, Bob

2005-03-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

Beamon began jumping at Jamaica High School (Long Island, New York) and attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (Greensboro), the University of Texas

National Academy Of Sciences

2005-03-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

In 1916 the academy established

Baseball

2005-03-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

In January former

Abbot

2005-03-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

Late Latin and Greek Abbas, the superior of a monastic community that follows the Benedictine Rule (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, Trappists) and of certain other orders (Premonstratensians, canons regular of the Lateran). The word derives from the Aramaic ab (“father”), or aba (“my father”), which in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and in New Testament Greek was written

Vihara

2005-03-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

Early type of Buddhist monastery consisting of an open court surrounded by open cells accessible through an entrance porch. The viharas in India were originally constructed to shelter the monks during the rainy season, when it became difficult for them to lead the wanderer's life. They took on a sacred character when small stupas (housing sacred relics) and images

Venice

2005-03-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Italian Venezia city, major seaport, and capital of both the provincia of Venezia and the regione of Veneto, northern Italy. An island city, it was once the centre of a maritime republic. It was the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent's commercial and cultural link with Asia. Venice is unique environmentally, architecturally, and historically, and in its days as

Inner Ear

2005-03-03T03:03:00.000-08:00

Also called labyrinth of the ear, part of the ear that contains organs of the senses of hearing and equilibrium. The bony labyrinth, a cavity in the temporal bone, is divided into three sections: the vestibule, the semicircular canals, and the cochlea. Within the bony labyrinth is a membranous labyrinth, which is also divided into three parts: the semicircular ducts; two saclike structures, the saccule

Aluminum Processing

2005-03-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Aluminum, or aluminium (Al), is a silvery white metal with a melting point of 660° C (1,220° F) and a density of 2.7 grams per cubic centimetre. The most abundant metallic element, it constitutes 8.1 percent of the Earth's crust. In nature it occurs chemically combined with oxygen and other elements. In the pure state it is soft and ductile, but

Japan

2005-03-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

On June 9 in Tokyo, Crown Prince Naruhito married Masako Owada (see BIOGRAPHIES), a career woman from the Foreign Ministry. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko began an unprecedented four-day visit to Okinawa on April 23 to pay respect to nearly 200,000 soldiers and civilians killed in the Pacific war. After the empress collapsed on October 20, her 59th birthday, the only medical information

Henle, Friedrich Gustav Jacob

2005-03-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

While a student of the German physiologist Johannes Müller at the universities of Bonn (M.D., 1832) and Berlin (1832–34), Henle

Serbia And Montenegro, The early Slav states

2005-03-01T02:29:00.000-08:00

The unstable situation of the Balkan Slavs, located as they were on the frontier between the Byzantine Empire and the seminomadic peoples of Asia, enabled them to assert some measure of independence. The basis of the Serbs' social organization was the zadruga, or extended family. Several zadruge were grouped locally under a zupan, or chieftain. With kinship and locality

Bruce Peninsula

2005-02-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Saugeen Peninsula, extension of the Niagara Escarpment, southeastern Ontario, Canada. The peninsula juts northwestward for 60 miles (100 km) into Lake Huron, separating that lake from Georgian Bay. After rising abruptly from its rugged east coast to heights of 200–500 feet (60–150 m) above the lake, the peninsula slopes gradually to its western coast. Although it is poor agriculturally, it is a popular vacation

Canadian-american Challenge Cup

2005-02-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

Byname Can-am Cup, trophy of a series of automobile races that took place annually from 1966 to 1975 and from 1977 to 1986. It was sponsored jointly by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the Canadian Automobile Sports Committee (CASC). Entries were two-seater sports and racing cars classified in Group 7 by rules of the International Automobile Federation, the world governing body of auto racing. Races

San Cristóbal

2005-02-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Makira , formerly Cristoval island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Guadalcanal. The island is about 80 miles (130 km) long, has a maximum width of 25 miles (40 km), and has an area of 1,231 square miles (3,188 square km). It is fairly rugged, with a central mountain rising to 4,100 feet (1,250 metres). Islets off the northern coast are Uki Ni Masi Island and the Olu Malau Islands (Three Sisters Islands);

Cipher

2005-02-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

All ciphers involve either transposition or substitution, or a combination of these two mathematical operations—i.e., product ciphers. In transposition cipher systems, elements of the plaintext

Heidelberg Catechism

2005-02-26T03:52:00.000-08:00

The Heidelberg Catechism was prepared

Munch, Peter Rochegune

2005-02-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

After a career as a historian of modern Europe, Munch entered the Danish Parliament in 1909 as a member of the Radical Party. In the same year he became minister

Elimination Reaction

2005-02-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic chemical reactions in which a pair of atoms or groups of atoms are removed from a molecule, usually through the action of acids, bases, or metals and, in some cases, by heating to a high temperature. It is the principal process by which organic compounds containing only single carbon-carbon bonds (saturated compounds) are transformed to compounds

Chandrapur

2005-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

Located on major rail and road routes,

Cermak, Anton J.

2005-02-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Cermak was born about 50 miles (80 km) from Prague but celebrated his first birthday on Ellis Island in New York harbour. His parents settled in Braidwood, Ill., where,

Philip Iii

2005-02-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Philip was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria. When he became duke of Burgundy at the age of 23, his first aim was to extricate himself as expeditiously

Epistemology, Commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology

2005-02-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Three of the most notable achievements of analytic philosophy are commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology. G.E. Moore (1873–1958) made a defense of what he called the commonsense view of the world. According to Moore, virtually everybody knows certain propositions to be true, such as that the Earth exists, that it is very old, and that other persons

Nabataean

2005-02-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

Member of a people of ancient Arabia whose settlements lay in the borderlands between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates River to the Red Sea. Little is known about them before 312 BC, when they were unsuccessfully attacked by Demetrius I Poliorcetes, king of Macedonia, in their mountain fortress of Petra south of the Dead Sea. Their monopoly on the rich caravan trade that

China, Consolidation

2005-02-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

Under the third emperor, Chen-tsung (reigned 997/998–1022/23), the Sung achieved consolidation. A threatening Khitan offensive was directly met by the Emperor himself. A few battles assured neither side of victory. The two empires pledged peaceful coexistence in 1004 through an exchange of sworn documents that foreshadowed modern international treaties. The Khitan gave up its claim

Manuel I

2005-02-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

Manuel was fortunate to have reigned at all;

Selkirk, Alexander

2005-02-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

The son of a shoemaker, Selkirk ran away to sea in 1695; he joined a band of buccaneers in the Pacific and by 1703 was sailing master of a galley on a privateering expedition. In September 1704, after a quarrel with his captain, he was put ashore at his own request

Consumerism

2005-02-20T03:30:00.000-08:00

Consumer

Athlone

2005-02-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

Irish Baile Átha Luain town, County Westmeath, Ireland. It lies on the River Shannon just south of Lough (lake) Ree. Located at a major east-west crossing of the Shannon, it has always been an important garrison town. In the 12th century the area, previously fortified by the kings of Uí Maine and Connaught (Connacht), was seized by the Anglo-Normans. Their motte (palisade) castle was built in 1210 and underwent

Ayala, Francisco

2005-02-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Ayala received a law degree from the University of Madrid in 1929, having already published the novel Tragicomedia de un hombre sin espíritu (1925; “Tragicomedy of a Man Without Spirit”) and the story Cazador en el alba (1930; “Hunter at Dawn”). These works are psychological studies that make a strong use of metaphor but display little

Hardee, William J(oseph)

2005-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

When Georgia seceded from the Union in

Allégret, Marc

2005-02-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

Allégret was educated in law in Paris, but while accompanying his uncle André Gide on a trip to Africa, he recorded the trip on film. He served as an assistant director to Robert Florey and Augusto Genina and in 1931 directed his first feature, Mam'zelle Nitouche. It was

Avalon, Frankie

2005-02-17T18:17:00.000-08:00

A wunderkind trumpet player, Avalon was already an experienced performer when, as a Philadelphia teenager, he joined Rocco and the Saints (whose drummer was future pop star Bobby Rydell). Guided by manager

Bloch, Konrad E.

2005-02-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

After receiving a chemical engineering degree in 1934 at the Technische Hochschule in Munich,

Girdle Tie

2005-02-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

Also called blood of Isis in Egyptian religion, protective amulet formed like a knot and made of gold, carnelian, or red glazed ware. Most samples of the girdle tie have been found tied around the necks of mummies; the amulets were intended to protect the dead from all that was harmful in the afterlife.

Leaf Monkey

2005-02-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

Species of langur (q.v.).

Wyoming Massacre

2005-02-15T02:34:00.000-08:00

In early June, Colonel John Butler led a force of 1,000 loyalists and Iroquois allies against the 5,000 inhabitants of the valley—mostly American women and children gathered at Forty Fort. About

Talisman

2005-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Object bearing a sign or engraved character and thought to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune. See amulet.

Sorbon, Robert De

2005-02-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

Born into a poor rural family, Sorbon was educated in Reims and in Paris, where his piety and diligence drew the patronage of the comte d'Artois and King Louis IX. In 1251 he became canon

Condylarthra

2005-02-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

Extinct order of hoofed mammals that includes the ancestral forms of later, more advanced ungulates (hoofed mammals with a plant diet). The condylarths are transitional between the insectivores and advanced ungulates. The condylarths existed mostly in the Paleocene Epoch (66.4 to 57.8 million years ago), but some forms persisted through the Eocene Epoch into the Early Oligocene

Elisha

2005-02-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

The popular traditions about Elisha (2 Kings 2–13) sketch a charismatic, quasi-ecstatic figure, very similar to Elijah.

Ambrose, Stephen Edward

2005-02-13T11:45:00.000-08:00

American biographer and historian (b. Jan. 10, 1936, Decatur, Ill.—d. Oct. 13, 2002, Bay St. Louis, Miss.), wrote some three dozen books on U.S. history. His later works were populist in tone, celebrating the achievements of ordinary people. In 2002 he was accused of plagiarism, but in his defense he argued that he had cited sources for his material. Ambrose earned a B.S. degree in history from the University

Channel-port Aux Basques

2005-02-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

Town on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, Canada. It is the terminal for car ferries across Cabot Strait from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and is the connecting point for the 570-mile (917-kilometre) semicircular final stage of the Trans-Canada Highway to St. John's (east). Fishing and fish processing are local industries. A monument commemorates those who died when the ferry

Banha

2005-02-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Benha, town, capital of Al-Qalyubiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. The town lies on the right (east) bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile and on the At-Tawfiqi Canal in the delta area. It is about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Cairo on the highway to Alexandria. Its Arabic name is derived from the Coptic name Panaho. Since the early European Middle Ages, Banha has been known for the production

Narrabri

2005-02-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It lies along Narrabri Creek (tributary of the Namoi River), just west of the Nandewar Range. Surveyed in 1859 and declared a municipality in 1883, it derives its name from an Aboriginal word meaning “big creek” and “forked sticks.” On the Newell Highway, with regular air and rail service to Sydney (264 miles [425 km] southeast) and Brisbane, Narrabri

Die-casting

2005-02-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Forming metal objects by injecting molten metal under pressure into dies, or molds. An early and important use of the technique was in the Mergenthaler Linotype machine (1884) to give line-long combinations of letters, but the appearance of the mass-production automobile assembly line gave die-casting its real impetus. Great precision is possible, and products range

Smith Act

2005-02-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Formally Alien Registration Act of 1940 U.S. federal law passed in 1940 that made it a criminal offense to advocate violent overthrow of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy. After World War II this statute was made the basis of a series of prosecutions against leaders of the Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party. The conviction of the principal

Philosophy, History Of, Epistemology of appearance

2005-02-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

All of the post-Parmenidean philosophers, like Parmenides himself, presupposed that the real world is different from the one that men perceive. Thus the problems of epistemology, or theory of knowledge, arose. According to Anaxagoras, everything is contained in everything. But this is not what people perceive. He solved this problem, however, by assuming that, if there

Paraguay, Climate

2005-02-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

The climate is subtropical in most of eastern Paraguay, which mainly lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and tropical in most of the Chaco Boreal extending to its north. Masses of humid air blanket the country in the summers, and the winters are subject to cold southern winds. Summer temperatures between October and March generally range from 77° F to 104° F (25° C to 40° C). Winter temperatures

Long Range Mountains

2005-02-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

Highest range on the island of Newfoundland, Canada, extending about 250 miles (400 km) northward from Cape Ray along the western shore. The mountains have an average elevation of nearly 2,200 feet (670 m) and a maximum height of 2,670 feet (814 m) in the Lewis Hills, southwest of Corner Brook. Their relatively uniform summits represent the remnants of an ancient peneplain that has undergone periods

Conservative Force

2005-02-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

In physics, any force, such as the gravitational force between the Earth and another mass, whose work is determined only by the final displacement of the object acted upon. The total work done by a conservative force is independent of the path resulting in a given displacement and is equal to zero when the path is a closed loop. Stored energy, or potential energy, can be